Start Out Your Year With Literary Postpunk

Later this month, the Portland, Oregon-based label Water Wing Records will reissue two records by the New York City No Wave band Y Pants, their self-titled EP and the album Beat It Down. Listening to their music, one can hear an anything-goes spirit and a limitless energy; it’s the same sense of not being hemmed in by musical expectations that makes the likes of Desperate Bicycles and ESG so thrilling to hear.

Also notable is the band’s literary connection: among other things, the lyrics to Beat It Down opener “Obvious” were written by none other than Lynne Tillman. A little more of Lynne Tillman’s work in your life is never a bad thing; if you can do so while also delving into punk history, so much the better.